Method and apparatus for shipping motor vehicles

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for loading and tying down motor vehicles onto a transporting railway car. Chains are fastened to the frame of the motor vehicle and two rigid members that are guided in a track. As the vehicles are moved along a loading ramp toward the railway car, the distance between the ends of the chains, in a vertical direction, is increased to tensioning the chains and tie down the vehicles.

[451 Sept. 19, 1972 United States Patent Krokos et al.

[54] METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR 3,511,392 5/1970 Blundenetal.....3,580,627 5/l97l -Underwood....... 2,118,364 2,322,576

5/l938 Sheehan.............

SHIPPING MOTOR VEHICLES [72] Inventors: Raymond M. Krokos, Detroit; Wil-6/1943 Huebshman et al Maccurdy 3 465 691 9/1969 Simmons..........'..

3,507,471 4/1970 Haynes, Jr. et al. 105/368 T [73] Assignee; EvansProducts Company 3,566,804 3/1971 Mietla...... 22 Filed:

Primary ExaminerDrayton E. Hoffman At1orney--Harness, Dickey & PierceMay 14, 1970 211 App]. No.2 37,250

ABSTRACT A method and apparatus for loading and tying down motorvehicles onto a transporting railway car. Chains are fastened to theframe of the motor vehicle and two rigid members that are guided in atrack. As the vehi- 20 2 5m 5 H53 44 1M ZM Z 9; T KA 8 9 19 68 7 30 l 060 M MR B A 8 m6] H6 M5 0 MWR J m m9 I 1 m mn m oo fluam4 "u 2 L f I S d5mm UIF 1]] 218 555 [ll cles are moved along a loading ramp toward therail [56] References Cited way car, the distance between the ends of thechains,

UNITED STATES PATENTS in a vertical direction, is increased totensioning the chains and tie down the vehicles.

3,362,353 1/1968 Johnson et al..........lO5/368 S 8 Claims, 4 DrawingFigures METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR SHIPPING v MOTOR VEHICLES BACKGROUND OFTHE-INVENTION the automobile or other motor vehicle is driven onto thetransporting vehicle. Obviously, this is a time consuming operation andrequires a relatively large amount of manpower. Once on the transportingvehicle, the motor vehicle must be tied down in some manner so as toprevent damage during shipment. This tying down is done -by chains orother specially constructed tie down devices. It is essential that thechains be tensioned and special tools are frequently required fortensioning the chains. The previously proposed tie down methods are notonly expensive and time consuming but also do not afford positiveassurance that a given motor vehicle will be tied down properly duringshipment.

It is, therefore, a principal object of this invention to provide animproved method and apparatus for shipping motor vehicles.

' It is another object of the invention to provide an improved methodand apparatus for tying down motor vehicles on a transporting vehicle.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a method andapparatus for automatically tying down a motor vehicle as it is loadedonto a transporting vehicle.

It is still another object of the invention to provide an improvedmethod and apparatus for loading motor vehicles onto a transportingvehicle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention is particularly adapted to beem.- bodied in a method for tying down motor vehicles for shipment on atransporting vehicle. The method comprises the step of affixing one endof a substantially inextensible member to the motor vehicle. The motorvehicle and the other end of the inextensible member are then moved inone direction relative to the transporting vehicle for positioning themotor vehicle for transit on the transporting vehicle and simultaneouslythe ends of the inextensible member are moved away from each other in adirection normal to the one direction for tensioning the inextensiblemember and tying down the motor vehicle.

The invention is also adapted to be embodied in an apparatus forperforming the aforenoted method. Such an apparatus includes aninextensible member that is adapted to be connected in one end to themotor vehicle and which is connected at its other end to a member thatis supported for movement within a track. The track extends in the onedirection and also diverges from the floor along which the motor vehiclemoves for tensioning the inextensible member.

2 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS v FIG. 1 is a perspective viewshowing amethod and apparatus forloading and tying down motor vehiclesonto a transporting vehicle. 1

FIG. 2 in perspective view showing the forward portion of the railwaycar shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the tie downmechanism and is taken generally along the line 3-3 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged, exploded perspective view of the tie down shownin FIG. 3. v

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF Ill-IE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT FIG. 1 is a viewwhich may be considered as being taken at the loading dock of anautomobile assembly plant. This loading dock provides a siding,indicated generally by the reference numeral 11 on which a transportingrailway car 12 is positioned. The railway car 12 has a deck 13 in whichspaced apart generally channel shaped guides 14 are positioned. Althougha single level railway car 12 is depicted, it should be un derstood thatthis invention is susceptible for use in connection with multi-levelcars and that loading ramp, to be described, can be juxtaposed to each'level of the car. For the simplicity of illustration, however, only onelevel is depicted.

A plurality of motor vehicles, in this case automobiles, indicatedgenerally by the reference numeral 15, are adapted to be loaded onto andtied down tothe car 12in a manner which will become more apparentas thisdescription proceeds.

Automobiles 15 are delivered to the car 12 by means of a loading ramp,indicated generally by the reference numeral 16, which loading ramp isjuxtaposed to the siding 11. The loading ramp 16 is elevated so as aworkman may stand underneath a pair of spaced apart tracks 17 and 18 ofthe loading ramp. The tracks 17 and 18 may extend directly fromthe endof the assembly line (not shown).

Supported above the tracks 17 and 18 and in line with the guide channels14 of the car 12 are a pair of similarly shaped guide channels 19 and21. The guide channels 14, 19 and 21 are the same in construction andthis construction will now be described by particular reference to FIG.3, which is typical. Each of the guide channels has an elongated baseleg 22 and upstanding side legs 23 and 24. Horizontally disposed flanges25 and 26 extend inwardly from the upper end of the legs 23 and 24 anddefine an opening 27.

Tie down members, indicated generally by the reference numeral 28, areprovided for tying down the automobiles 15 onto the car 12. These tiedown members 28 may best be understood by reference to FIGS. 3 and 4 andinclude a tie down fitting comprised of a pair of spaced apart plates 29and 31 that are affixed together in any suitable manner includingvertically extending pins 32 positioned at the four corners of theplates 29 and 31. The pins 32 rotatably support guide rollers 33.Intermediate the ends of the plates 29 and 31, a pair of horizontallyextending shafts 34 and 35 are positioned. Pairs of guide rollers 36 and37 are journaled on the outer ends of the shafts 34 and 35,respectively. Between the guide rollers 36 and 37 at one side of theplate 29, an upstanding lug 38 is formed. A chain 39 is fixed at one endto the lug 38. The other end of the chain 39 has a fitting 41 that isadapted to be affixed to the motor vehicle in a manner which will becomemore apparent as this description proceeds.

The tie down member 28 is adapted to be positioned in the guide channels19 and 21 through an opening (not shown) provided at one end of thesechannels. When so inserted, the guide rollers 33 engage the upstandinglegs 23 and 24 and the pairs of guide rollers 36 and 37 are trappedbetween the lower leg 22 and the flanges 25 and 26 of the guide channels19 and 21. Thus, one end of the chain 39 is fixed for movement along therespective guide channels 19 and 21 and into the car supported guidechannels 14.

A plurality of elongated loading members in the form of metal plates,indicated generally by the reference numeral 42, are also adapted to beloosely received within the guide channels 19, 21 and 14. In thedepicted embodiment, two loading members 42 are employed for eachautomobile 15, one at each side of the automobile. The loading members42 are formed with at least one pair of spaced apertures 43, each ofwhich is adapted to receive a pin 44 formed on the upper plate 29 of thetie down member 28. When so received, one of the ends of the chains 39is fixed in a preselected longitudinal position. Similarly, the spacingbetween like ends of the chains 39 is determined.

. The forward end of each loading member 42 is bifurcated by affixing aplate 45 to its upper side. The plate 45 has-an offset portion 46 thatis adapted to receive an offset end 47 of a plate that is fixed to thetrailing end of each loading member 42. The offset portions 46 and 47are apertured and receive a pin 48 for connecting the loading members 42to each other in a series.

The method of loading and tying the cars will now be described byspecific reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. These figures show a plurality ofautomobiles 15 already loaded onto the car 12. To initiate the loadingprocedure, however, pairs of tie down members 29 are positioned at theloading end of the guide channels 19 and 21 and a loading member 42 ispositioned over each pair of tie down members 28 to affix theirlongitudinal relationship as aforenoted. At this time, the fittings 41at the outer ends of the chains 39 will hang loose. A pair of elongatedcables 51 and 52 are connected at one of their ends to the forward endof the loading members 42 through the aperture that receives the pin 48.The opposite ends of the cables 51 and 52 are connected to a winch 53that is supported at the forward end of the car 12. This winch may bepower or manually driven, preferably the former. It will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art that other methods than the winch53 and the cables 51 and 52 may be employed for moving the loadingmembers 42 onto the car 12.

As an automobile 15 is positioned on the tracks 17 and 18, an operatorstanding under these tracks attaches the fittings 41 to the side framerails 54 of the automobile 15. A large portion of the automobile at theextreme lefthand side of FIG. 1 has been removed to show the connectionof the ends of the chains 39 to the frame rails 54. When so connected tothe automobile 15, the movement of the loading members 42 along theguide channels 19 and 21 will draw the automobiles 15 toward the car 12.At this stage, the vertical distance between the tracks 17 and 18 andthe guide channels 19 and 21 is less than the length of the chains 39.-

It is to be understood that after one automobile 15 is connected to onepair of loading members 42 another pair of loading members 42 isconnected to the first pair by the pins 48 and another automobile l5isattached through the tie down fittings 28 in the manner previouslydescribed. A sufficient number of pairs .of loading members 42 areemployed so as to fully load the railway car 12.

As the loading members 42 and attached automobile 15 approach therailway car 12, the tracks 17 and 18 reach kick up sections 58 and 59.Previously, the tracks 17 and 18 were at a lower level than the level ofthe railway car floor 13. The kick up sections 58 and 59, however, raisethese tracks to the level of the car floor 13. As the wheels of theautomobiles 15 go up the kick up sections 58 and 59, the fittings 41 andone end of the chains 39 will move vertically away from the end of thechain that is connected to the plate 29. Since the plate 29 is trappedwithin the guide channels 19 and 21, which remain at a constant height,a tension will be put on the chains 39 tending to pull the frame rails54 down towards the car floor 13. As so tensioned, the automobile 15 andloading members 42 move along the length of the tracks 17 and 18 andfinally onto the car 13. This movement is continued until the car 12 isfully loaded. At this time, the exposed ends of the loading members 42at opposite ends of the car 12 may be nailed down or otherwise securedto the car 12.

Thus, the automobiles 15 are loaded onto the car 12 and aresimultaneously tied down to the car 12 by the tensioning of the chains39. This insures that each automobile 15 that is loaded onto the car 12will be securely tied down. The manpower required to load the car 12 is,obviously, considerably reduced.

It has been previously noted that other methods may be employed fordelivering the automobiles l5 and loading members 42 onto the railwaycar 12. In addition, in this embodiment the automobiles 15 are elevatedas they are moved toward the car 12 and the opposite ends of the chains39 are held against any vertical movement. It should be readily apparentthat the opposite condition may exist. That is, the guide channels 19and 21 may diverge downwardly toward the tracks 17 and 18 and the tracksmay remain at a fixed elevation. Various other changes and modificationsmay be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the inventionbut defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A method of tying down a motor vehicle for shipment on a transportingvehicle employing a substantially inextensible member having means atone end for providing an operative, detachable connection to the motorvehicle and means at its other end for providing an operative connectionto the transporting vehicle, comprising the stepof affixing the one endof the substantially inextensible member to the motor vehicle and thestep of moving the motor vehicle and the other end of the inextensiblemember in one direction relative to the transporting vehicle forpositioning the motor vehicle for transport on the transporting vehicleand simultaneously moving the ends of the inextensible member away fromeach other in a direction normal to the one direction a distancesufficient to tension the inextensible member and tie down the motorvehicle upon the transporting vehicle by compressing the suspensionsprings of the motor vehicle.

2. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the other end of theinextensible member is moved in afixed path.

3. A method as set forth in claim lwherein the one end of theinextensible member is moved in a fixed path I transporting a pluralityof motor vehicles in end to end relationship, comprising the steps offixing a respective inextensible member at one end to each of thevehicles, and the step of operatively connecting the other ends of theinextensible members to each other for moving the motor vehicles ontothe transporting vehicle.

6. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the inextensible member istensioned prior to positioning of the motor vehicle upon thetransporting vehicle.

7. An apparatus for tying down a motor vehicle for shipment on atransporting vehicle comprising at least one relatively inextensiblemember adapted to be affixed at one end thereof to the motor vehicle,guide means defining a fixed path for the other end of said inextensiblemember, and track means upon which the motor vehicle is adapted to berolled and delivered to a transporting vehicle, said guide means andsaid track means diverging from each other along at least a portion oftheir lengths for tensioning said inextensible member.

8. An apparatus as set forth in claim 7 wherein the guide meanscomprises'a channel in which the one end of the inextensible member isoperatively received.

1. A method of tying down a motor vehicle for shipment on a transportingvehicle employing a substantially inextensible member having means atone end for providing an operative, detachable connection to the motorvehicle and means at its other end for providing an operative connectionto the transporting vehicle, comprising the step of affixing the one endof the substantially inextensible member to the motor vehicle and thestep of moving the motor vehicle and the other end of the inextensiblemember in one direction relative to the transporting vehicle forpositioning the motor vehicle for transport on the transporting vehicleand simultaneously moving the ends of the inextensible member away fromeach other in a direction normal to the one direction a distancesufficient to tension the inextensible member and tie down the motorvehicle upon the transporting vehicle by compressing the suspensionsprings of the motor vehicle.
 2. A method as set forth in claim 1wherein the other end of the inextensible member is moved in a fixedpath.
 3. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the one end of theinextensible member is moved in a fixed path which diverges from thepath of the other end in the normal direction.
 4. A method as set forthin claim 1 wherein the motor vehicle is moved along a path that raisesrelative to the path of movement of the other end of the inextensiblemember for tensioning the inextensible member.
 5. A method as set forthin claim 1 as applied to transporting a plurality of motor vehicles inend to end relationship, comprising the steps of fixing a respectiveinextensible member at one end to each of the vehicles, and the step ofoperatively connecting the other ends of the inextensible members toeach other for moving the motor vehicles onto the transporting vehicle.6. A method as set forth in claim 1 wherein the inextensible member istensioned prior to positioning of the motor vehicle upon thetransporting vehicle.
 7. An apparatus for tying down a motor vehicle forshipment on a transporting vehicle comprising at least one relativelyinextensible member adapted to be affixed at one end thereof to themotor vehicle, guide means defining a fixed path for the other end ofsaid inextensible member, and track means upon which the motor vehicleis adapted to be rolled and delivered to a transporting vehicle, saidguide means and said track means diverging from each other along atleast a portion of their lengths for tensioning said Inextensiblemember.
 8. An apparatus as set forth in claim 7 wherein the guide meanscomprises a channel in which the one end of the inextensible member isoperatively received.